Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The Year of Adventure


My family is calling 2015 “The Year of Adventure.” We have known for a while that big changes were coming this year. We didn’t (and still don’t!) know what the near future holds for our family, but whatever comes, we are determined to enjoy the adventure!

You may remember that when we moved to Minnesota three years ago, it was for a temporary pastoral position at a church here. Originally Will was going to work at the church for two years. His position was extended for one extra year, and now after three years, Will’s job at the church has officially ended. For the past two years we have been seeking the Lord’s will regarding a new place of ministry. We have not yet found a new ministry position, so for now we will be staying right where we are. Will is currently working at an attorney’s office until the Lord opens the door for ministry. (Side note: if you happen to know of a church or other ministry that might be a good fit for our family, feel free to let us know!)



Earlier this spring we took a trip to Arizona while prayerfully considering a particular ministry opportunity there. The Lord has since closed the door for ministry in Arizona, but we are thankful for the time we had to travel as a family and see some of the work the Lord is doing there.

We called our road trip to Arizona and back “The Great Adventure.” We drove 3,721 miles through 10 states in 25 days, and we listened to 62 episodes of Adventures in Odyssey! We had a very fun time and saw some beautiful sites along the way. It isn’t a trip we would have attempted were it not for the need to find new employment and a new place of ministry. It was travel that was necessary, so we found a way to make it work, but at times I did wonder if I was a crazy person for attempting a cross country trip while meeting the medical definition of "homebound!"

You might be wondering how I was able to go on such a trip given my state of health. Later on this summer I will share about how we made it work, and I'll give some tips on travelling when chronically ill. Meanwhile, here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip. 



William and Adelaide at Garden of the Gods



While in Colorado Springs we stopped by Focus on the Family. When I was growing up, my family took a tour of Focus on the Family. That was 22 years ago, and at that time they were building Whit's End. Ever since then I have been wanting to go back and see Whit's End. This year my childhood dream became a reality!



I had a Wodfamchocsod at Whit's End! This was super exciting for a child of the 80s who grew up listening to Adventures in Odyssey.



We drove through the mountains of Colorado. It was beautiful!



The Lundy family in 4 different states! William is in Arizona, Adelaide is in New Mexico, Will is in Utah, and I am in Colorado. The monument platform says, "Four states here meet in freedom under God."



This is the first viewpoint we stopped at when visiting the Grand Canyon, and there wasn't a guardrail or a wall. There was just a sloping gravel hill to the edge of the cliff. Rolling up to the edge of the canyon in a wheelchair was quite scary! I stayed several feet away from the edge, and I was relieved to find that there were walls and guardrails at later viewpoints.



The Grand Canyon was my favorite place on our trip. It is spectacular.



Sunset at the Grand Canyon



Will took the children to see Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument while I spent the day resting. 



The Painted Desert in the Petrified Forest National Park

2015 has been filled with adventure for our family, and we aren't even halfway through the year yet! We look forward to the adventures that still lie ahead. We don't know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future, and in that we find great comfort. 

6 comments:

  1. Incredible photos, Rachel! The one of you all in 4 states is very cool. Looks like you saw some beautiful places. :)

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  2. Thanks for sharing your trip, Rachel.


    Fun fact. The parts where the Grand Canyon is on Native American land, there are no guardrails. The part where it's US National Park, there are. Where are most accidents? In the National Parks.

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  3. We did see some beautiful places and had a great time. We also took pictures of each of us individually in four states at once! That was really fun for the children to get to say that they were in four states at one time.

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  4. Interesting! The guardrails must make people less cautious at the edge.

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  5. Big adventures! Love it. I'm sure the Lord has a great new one out there for you.


    I know of a church in Fresno seeking a new pastor, but this would not be a place for you. It was only 94 degrees today, but Wednesday is forecast to be 109. Our AC is not working properly, only holding the temperature in the house to about 88 degrees. Hopefully the AC repair can be here before then.

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  6. Wow, that is hot! You're right; that would not be a good place for me. I have to stay inside when temperatures reach 80 degrees. I can only imagine how badly 109 degrees would impact my health!


    I'm so sorry that your AC isn't working properly. I hope that it can be repaired very soon so that you can have a comfortable temperature in your home.

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